Oh my god, I love my new bicycle! I left work early yesterday to go pick it up. As soon as I saw it, sitting in the back of the store, my heart started pounding. It's sooo pretty. Dark orange brushed metal, gorgeous curves, white walls, leather saddle and leather grips, tall as all get out. I should have some pictures up friday.

I handed over my driver's license and took it for a test drive down the sidewalk and into a nearby bus parking lot. It felt great. Just like they say, riding a bike came right back to me. You just pedal and go and for some crazy reason you don't fall over.

But of course, there's riding a bike and there's riding a bike on busy city streets during rush hour. I got a little frightened whenever an SUV would pass me, especially in South Philly. A few times, I found myself sitting stuck in traffic with the cars for a minute or two before I remembered I was on a bicycle and could just hop onto the sidewalk until I got around the guy who couldn't parallel park.

Unfortunately, I couldn't ride it to work today. I have an engagement right after work and didn't want to leave it sitting outside in the dark. I didn't go in much for accessories yet, just a little Kryptonite cable to keep wrapped around the seatpost for emergencies. Today at lunch I'm going to EMS to pick up a big Kryptonite U-lock, which I might just keep locked to the bike rack in front of my office building, as I'll be keeping it inside at home. Oh, and I should probably think about buying a helmet.